Alfredo Stroessner

Alfredo Stroessner (3 November 1912-16 August 2006) was President of Paraguay from 15 August 1954 to 3 February 1989, succeeding Tomas Romero Pereira and preceding Andres Rodriguez. His 35-year rule began with his rise to power in a military coup, and ended with his fall during one. During his reign of terror, Colorado Party membership was mandatory for job promotion, free medical care, and other services; his supportes packed the legislature and ran the courts, and he ruthlessly suppressed opponents of his fascist dictatorship.

Biography
Alfredo Stroessner was born in Encarnacion, Paraguay in 1912 of German descent, and he joined the military and became its supreme commander in 1953. He led a coup in 1954 and assuemd the presidency, which was subsequently confirmed in nine successive rigged elections. Under his authoritarian leadership, social inequalities increased, so that in 1981, around 1% of the population possessed about 80% of the land. A growing economic crisis which accelerated in 1985 increased political repression, and growing opposition from his own supporters led to his eventual removal in a military coup on 3 February 1989. He spent the last 17 years of his life in exile in Brazil, and he died in Brasilia in 2006.